(YELLOWKNIFE)  - The Legislative Library is pleased to announce the first Ledge Talks: The Knowledge Series for 2016 will be held on February 3, 2016 at 7:30 pm in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly building.  “Frontline Workers’ Perspectives on Community Response to Intimate Partner Violence in the Northwest Territories” will be presented by Dr. Pertice Moffitt, Heather Fikowski and Lyda Fuller. 

Women who are victims of intimate partner violence in the Northwest Territories experience unique needs and gaps in services related to where they live and the vulnerabilities they experience because of their circumstance.  A five-year study funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian University Research Alliance seeks to answer three research questions:

1)      What are the needs of women who experience intimate partner violence?
2)      What are the gaps in the services to meet these needs?
3)      How do we create and sustain non-violent communities?  

This presentation will discuss a theory on the binding intersections that occur to create a community response of “our hands are tied” and will outline an action plan developed to assist us on our journey to non-violent communities.

Dr. Pertice Moffitt, Manager/Instructor, Health Research Programs, North Slave Research Centre/Aurora Research Institute, has lived and practiced nursing in Canada’s North for over 25 years.  Dr. Moffitt is a member of the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health and the Coalition against Family Violence NWT.  Her research focuses on women’s health and rural and remote issues using qualitative methods including fourth generation evaluation, ethnography, photovoice, and community participatory action research.

Heather Fikowski is an instructor in the Health and Human Services Program at Aurora College, Yellowknife/North Slave Campus and has lived and practiced social work in the Northwest Territories for the last 14 years.  She is an advocate for social justice issues in the Northwest Territories and a current member of the Coalition against Family Violence NWT.  Her research interests include women’s issues, family violence, and rural and remote social work practice.

Lyda Fuller is the Executive Director of the YWCA Yellowknife, a position she has held for the past nineteen years.  She leads a large, multi-service agency with a mission of women and girls empowered in safe and equitable communities and provides support to many program areas in Yellowknife.  She is well-versed in community relations, operational and governance issues for non-profit charities, and program delivery to vulnerable clients. Ms. Fuller has also participated in several research projects.

There will be time for questions and discussion following the presentation.  Media and the public are welcome.  The proceedings will be webcast via the Legislative Assembly website: www.assembly.gov.nt.ca

Ledge Talks: The Knowledge Series is a forum for a wide variety of speakers to present current ideas, science, traditional knowledge, and issues relevant to the Northwest Territories and beyond.  Ledge Talks will also showcase research done by the many GNWT employees – often with collaborating partners – who are making substantial contributions to the world’s understanding of the North.

For more information, please contact:

Vera Raschke, Legislative Librarian
Legislative Assembly of the NWT
P: 867-767-9132 ext. 12056 or toll-free 1-800-661-0784
F: 867-920-4735
E: vera_raschke@gov.nt.ca